Six Southern Fisherman Guilty Of Overbagging On Lake Erie!

[eric1978]

I'm not sticking up for the violators, but these were a bunch of old guys on a fishing vacation, one of them with his son. Apparently fishing was great, this should have been a trip of a lifetime with lots of good memories for everybody, and look what it's turned into - forfeited boats, big fines, national news, and a lot of dead fish. OK, they were idiots for even wanting to keep all those fish, but even good people are idiots sometimes and a serious violation could have easily been prevented and the bass could have been protected.

I hear what you're saying Sam, but these guys weren't just hapless idiots who thought they struck fish fry gold. It said in the report that they were observed "making two or three fishing trips a day, bringing back a daily limit of bass each time." That was obvious poaching and I have no sympathy for them.

As far as swooping down immediately and stopping the violations, I totally agree. But to look at it optimistically, the attention the headline got will end up being a net gain because more oblivious people will now know the regs, and poachers will now be more hesitant. And those are people that may have remained oblivious or bold had the CAs not set these other guys up...It's a good way to spin it anyway.

[Sam]

I agree, Eric1978 - my grandpa had the same idea when he'd shoot one crow and hang it by his corn patch to warn the other crows. That works.

It just gripes me that the CA's in Ohio, whose primary job is to protect fish and game including those smallmouths, would rather let them die for $50 each in fine money. To my way of thinking, that's what it boils down to.